OSAGE | On the second day of his 2019 99 County Tour, Iowa’s senior Senator Charles Grassley stopped at Kountry Kupboard in Osage to visit with members of the Osage Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs.

Grassley conducts various types of town meetings so he can reach a cross-section of Iowa citizens, who may not be able visit with him in more conventional settings.

After offering a few brief comments, Grassley then took questions from the clubs’ members.

When asked about the renewable fuel standards, Grassley said the proposed 19 billion gallons of renewable fuel actually ended up at 13.5 billion gallons. He added some of the cut back was due to waivers given to refineries. “We are hoping to have E-85 fuel for 12 months a year, instead of eight months a year,” Grassley said.

Grassley was asked how he could affect the current government shutdown. He said, “All I can do is stay in conference and do what I can do. I am not at the table when it comes to appropriations.”

Grassley said it’s costly to shut down the government and favors a bill introduced by a fellow Senator from Ohio. “Senator Rob Portman’s purposed bill says if you fail to pass an appropriation bill by September 30, then the government continues on using the previous year’s spending, until a new appropriation bill is passed.”

When asked about tariffs, he said, “We will know more by March 1, because that is the deadline for the tariffs. They were negotiating at lower levels with China last week. I met with Ambassador Branstad recently and he was very positive about it.

“Forty years ago half the world was in poverty and today ten percent of the world is in poverty. Free trade was a big part of that happening. I don’t understand why capitalism is downgraded today, when it has done so much to help the world overcome poverty.”

Subscribe to Breaking News

* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.